India visit will boost bilateral ties: Nepal PM

Kathmandu, Sep 11 (IANS) Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said he was hopeful that his upcoming India visit would help boost ties between the two neighbours, a media report said on Sunday.

Prachanda is set to embark on a three-day state visit to India from September 15, The Kathmandu Post reported.

Addressing an interaction here on Saturday on India-Nepal relations, organised by the Nepal Institute of International Relations, Prachanda said he would like to urge all to let him “take risk as a leader”.

“A leader should have the privilege to take risk. If you say, I won’t go (to India),” Prachanda said, adding that no controversial deals will be signed during the visit.

“I urge all the people in the country not to dictate to me and let me take risk in favour of our national interest,” The Kathmandu Post reported the Prime Minister as saying.

Besides concluding the remaining tasks of the peace process and implementing the constitution, improving relations with India is one of the most important tasks he has in front of him, the widely read daily noted.

Prachanda has long been floating the policy of tripartite cooperation among the three countries — China, Nepal and India — and he believes it could fulfil the Nepali people’s aspirations of change and prosperity, according to authorities here.